The body is a microcosm of the cosmos, with pointed bones representing stars and mountains on Earth, and hollows representing lakes and rivers.
The organs are elements, the meridians (energy channels) are rivers, and our internal weather (health, mental wellbeing, and spiritual harmony) are influenced by the sun, cold, and damp of Earth, as well as the wind and thunder of Heaven.
The idea of each human being as the center of the world, conceived in perfection of body, mind, and spirit, representing the karma of past lives of the self, ancestors, and descendants, is simple but sometimes nonsensical. We conclude our "contract with Heaven" for this creation at the moment of conception.
This rebirth takes place on Earth, which is the world in which we exist. Unlike religious traditions that see life on Earth as a “vale of tears,” the Tao declares that “all objects and all experiences are innately ideal... sin is not understood, nor any sense of right and wrong within human conscience.” It's a wonderful life!
Creating complex and painful procedures is thought to be needless. Pain and complications occur solely as a result of our reactions to events, which can lead to changes in our contract, which can lead to becoming imbalances, which can manifest as mental disturbance and sickness.
We adapt to circumstances differently as we progress through the seven stages of development, from child to sage, either returning to or going away from the ideal state of our creation, with the ultimate goal of returning to that prenatal Heaven, the Source.
The medicine wheel allows us to "step lightly in all worlds" by entering different states at will. It is the life chain, which connects the outside with the inside, the higher with the lower.
The medicine wheel has many applications in everyday life: the five elements assist in energy generation, the convergence of the eight energies provides marvelous meditations for clearing the sacred road, the interplay with the twelve creatures aids in knowing the self in relation to others, and the hexagrams aid in problem-solving.
We need to take a closer look at these facets of the medicine wheel that form their basis before diving further into shamanic traditions.
